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shartlesville
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Several of my children have problem skin and I am looking for some helpful ideas.
Emily has eczema and frequently gets splits in her fingers. She tries to use lotions and things like Aquaphor but it doesn't work well for fingertips.
Julia has icthyosis vulgaris where her old skin cells do not shed. She uses a special lotion called Carmol 20 which does work, she just doesn't like to put it on.
Sam gets dry skin in the winter and scratches a lot. He has a little eczema on his legs. We have been using regular lotion.
Jack currently has the worst problem. We believe he has icthyosis (the allergy doctor said it is not allergies or eczema) but he scratches and rips his feet and legs open all the time. We try to keep his nails short and keep his feet and legs covered but he gets too hot. We use a lot of Aquaphor (basically vaseline with a fancy name) and have been giving him liquid allergy medicine but it isn't working very well.
He and I didn't get much sleep last night because he was so miserable. 
Does anyone have any experience with this? What do you use that really works? What we need is something to help sooth the itching and help repair the splits and cuts.
Thanks for your help!
Blessings,
Krisann
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Krisann
DH Cris;
DC John, Elizabeth, Lilyann ^i^, Emily, Kate, Julia, Sam, & Jack;
DGC Kira, Auston, Travis, & Sarah.
My Blog: Isla del Esperanza
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MichelleW
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I am hoping that Burt's Bees Apricot Baby oil will work. I've had terribly itchy skin since I was pregnant with my middle child. I've seen 6 doctors and tried 24 medications. The only medication that has helped at all is Elidel, but I don't know if they prescribe that for children. I've heard good things about Burt's Bees oil. I just bought some.
Sometimes ice on the affected area helps. It is a temporary fix, but if it gets me to sleep I am thrilled.
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Michelle
Mom to 3 (dd 14, ds 15, and ds 16)
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shartlesville
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Do you know where to buy Burt's Bees? Do you know if it contains real fruit juice or extract? Most of the kids have allergies to a lot of fruits (apples, grapes, watermelon), but I am not sure about apricot. I guess I could look it up online, huh. 
I wish I could do ice, but I have a severe allergy to cold.  I can't even ice a bump for them, one of the other kids or my dh has to do it.
Thanks for the suggestion! Let me know if it helps.
Blessings,
Krisann
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Krisann
DH Cris;
DC John, Elizabeth, Lilyann ^i^, Emily, Kate, Julia, Sam, & Jack;
DGC Kira, Auston, Travis, & Sarah.
My Blog: Isla del Esperanza
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amyable
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This is totally hearsay, but while I was looking up info about skin cancers, etc awhile back, I read that coconut oil helps "teach" the skin cells when it is appropriate to duplicate, shed, etc. I belive what they recommended was a combination of coconut oil and crushed melatonin tablets. I don't know if that is safe for kids though. Maybe if you google coconut oil and melatonin or simply coconut oil and skin you could find out better information. Just thought I'd pass that on. At the very least coconut oil is very moisturizing and not high on the allergen scale as far as I know.
One thing that has helped my oldest at least was to figure out that the eczema on her hands was caused by her consuming tomato products. Maybe there is some food allergy that still hasn't been determined? My dd does not come up positive for tomato but it still bothers her, as does soy which is also a negative on the tests. HTH
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Amy
mom of 5, ages 6-16, and happy wife of 
The Highly Sensitive Homeschooler
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stefoodie
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Wow, Amy, that's the first time I've heard of that. I'd love to try that on hubby and 15-yo and 8-yo who have the worst cases of eczema I've seen. Thanks for sharing.
My hubby and kids' eczemas are caused by food allergies to wheat, dairy and eggs. AND other reasons -- environmental, weather, etc. so it's really difficult to control, because if it's not one it's the other.
A few products we've tried that (mostly) has worked for us:
Vaseline
Eucerin cream
Vicks (yup!, but only on small areas, and not on the face)
Jason Vitamin E cream
Have you checked the humidity of your house? A cool mist humidifier helps us at this time of the year.
Also washing all beddings in hot water once a week (I use All detergent -- fragrance free), and vacuuming every day (hah! I wish. Doesn't happen all the time.).
Oh, and I've got very dry hands. I'm using Neutrogena's hand cream, the only product that really helps me. I've tried the expensive stuff (like L'Occitane) but keep coming back to Neutrogena. Some knitters I know swear by Udder Cream.
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stef
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mavmama
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Krisann,
I would reccomend Renew lotion from Melaleuca. Truly, it has changed my life, and the kids', too. It works so well, we have not had any excema flare ups since we started using it. All my life I've had what our family calls "chicken skin" and those bumps are gone since using this lotion. Just my 2 cents...
Liz
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Taffy
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Krisann,
I don't have a wealth of experience in this area but I'll offer this up...
My oldest had developed a bad rash around his mouth. This was partly due to some enzymes that he was taking (he has digestive issues) and was aggravated by his constantly licking his face. It still reoccurs when he has a cold as he tends to lick his face then too. Anyway, it made him look rather clownish and we tried so many things to get rid of it, even using diaper cream (the kind with zinc).
What really did the trick (within a day, in fact) was a product called Prevex. I'm not sure if it is sold under the same name in the U.S. so I'll give you the generic info: 67% petrolatum USP, specially refined in an anhydrous (without water) base containing dimethicone.
This stuff is awesome and you don't need to use a lot. I'll try and find a link for you...Found a site here!
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Susan
Mom to 5 on earth and 1 in heaven
Susan's Soliloquy
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Philothea
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Burts Bees is sold at Whole Foods and various online retailers. You should be able to Froogle search it.
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JennGM
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shartlesville wrote:
Several of my children have problem skin and I am looking for some helpful ideas.
Emily has eczema and frequently gets splits in her fingers. She tries to use lotions and things like Aquaphor but it doesn't work well for fingertips.
Julia has icthyosis vulgaris where her old skin cells do not shed. She uses a special lotion called Carmol 20 which does work, she just doesn't like to put it on.
Sam gets dry skin in the winter and scratches a lot. He has a little eczema on his legs. We have been using regular lotion.
Jack currently has the worst problem. We believe he has icthyosis (the allergy doctor said it is not allergies or eczema) but he scratches and rips his feet and legs open all the time. We try to keep his nails short and keep his feet and legs covered but he gets too hot. We use a lot of Aquaphor (basically vaseline with a fancy name) and have been giving him liquid allergy medicine but it isn't working very well.
He and I didn't get much sleep last night because he was so miserable.
Does anyone have any experience with this? What do you use that really works? What we need is something to help sooth the itching and help repair the splits and cuts. |
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Krisann,
I feel for your little ones. Eczema is so hard!
Have you tried Neutragena Norweigen Formula for the split fingers? Another suggestion from other people who have the split fingers is to use the NuSkin or Liquid bandaids to help heal it together, but also keep out more moisture and other damage.
As far as the Ichthyosis Vulgaris, my dh has it. From what I've read and he's explained to me, it's basically he doesn't produce moisture for his skin, so by himself, he's dry. He's had it since he was a baby, and he would suffer from the flaky, scaly, alligator skin. It cracks and bleeds if he doesn't do anything. His niece also has it.
You mention your son gets hot when he uses the Aquaphor, and I think the Ich. affects the way his skin breathes. My dh is always uncomfortable in the heat. The dermatologist told him that only living in a tropical and humid climate would he experience non-dry, itchy skin. And on our honeymoon at Nevis Islands he experienced that and it was wonderful.
But I digress. What works for my husband is after showering he covers himself in Lac-hydrin lotion. It is now available OTC...we buy bottles from Costco. If his skin is really bad, it does burn initially when applying, so that might not be enjoyable for the kids. He loved the Norweigan Formula handcream, as his hands are so dry and chapped, but the glycerin really helps keep his hands intact.
But the key is humidity, moisture, reapply, and reapply.
And eating a good diet rich in good oils -- fish oil, Omega, olive oil, etc. can help, too.
We also use Aquaphor for our son, who hasn't show signs of Ich. Vul., but eczema from food allergies. The daily application, now light because he's better, has helped.
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to & ds1  '03 & ds2  '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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JennGM
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I also found this Ichthyosis Board which might give more suggestions.
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to & ds1 '03 & ds2 '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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stacykay
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Burts Bees can be found at Walgreen's (at least here in MI!)
My boys only use Cetaphil soap and lotions. My 16yods, who has it the worst, has been on prescription hydrocortisone and eladel (sp?) His is probably worst, because he sweats so much in his workouts everyday, and he showers more.
I will pray for you to find something to help your dc! It is painful and itchy and uncomfortable!
God Bless,
Stacy in MI
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momwise
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stefoodie wrote:
A few products we've tried that (mostly) has worked for us:
Vaseline
Eucerin cream
Vicks (yup!, but only on small areas, and not on the face)
Jason Vitamin E cream
<snip> Some knitters I know swear by Udder Cream. |
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We aren't dealing with this as much as we used to but I just wanted to add that when applying the Vaseline we always slather it on over wet skin. This is really the key thing for healing the dry areas. The Udder Cream is great--we used that too--again, over wet skin. For hands do this at bedtime: wet, apply the Vaseline, put on gloves and leave until morning. Re-apply the next night.
For chapped and cracked areas (especially lips and noses)try to find a product at the health food store with Calendula flower.
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Gwen...wife for 30 years, mom of 7, grandma of 3.....
"If you want equal justice for all and true freedom and lasting peace, then America, defend life." JPII
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shartlesville
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| Posted: Dec 13 2006 at 11:47pm | IP Logged
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Thank you all so much for your replies. I am going to try several of them to see what might work best.
You all are great!
Blessings,
Krisann
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Krisann
DH Cris;
DC John, Elizabeth, Lilyann ^i^, Emily, Kate, Julia, Sam, & Jack;
DGC Kira, Auston, Travis, & Sarah.
My Blog: Isla del Esperanza
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aussieannie
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Krissan,
I have heard that skin problems can be tied with toxin load in the body and that the use of clay, full body clay baths is helpful - here are some sites that might be worth looking at:
www.calearthminerals.com
www.magneticclay.com
www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com
God Bless, hope all sorts out soon!
Anne
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Spiritual Motherhood for Priests
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Erin
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Krisann
Dd5 is battling excema at present and she is difficult to live with, poor thing 
I really second the coconut oil I am having great success with it and best of all I can use it for many other problems too so it saves having to spend lots of money for various items or not having on hand what is needed when.
It is also very important to discover why the problem is occuring for my dd it is dairy products. If I can keep her off it and use the oil it clears up. We lapse and back comes the problem. I know what it is like as I suffered from it all my life until I changed my diet. Also I used to use Vitamin E cream and it had Lanolin in it which was making the excema worse 
Good luck in having success. Oh I have good success with calendula ointment as well and it can be used for a few other problems as well.
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Erin
Faith Filled Days
Seven Little Australians
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Erin
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Krisann
Dd5 is battling excema at present and she is difficult to live with, poor thing
I really second the coconut oil I am having great success with it and best of all I can use it for many other problems too so it saves having to spend lots of money for various items or not having on hand what is needed when. It is very good with the split skin and dry skin as well.
It is also very important to discover why the problem is occuring for my dd it is dairy products. If I can keep her off it and use the oil it clears up. We lapse and back comes the problem. I know what it is like as I suffered from it all my life until I changed my diet. Also I used to use Vitamin E cream and it had Lanolin in it which was making the excema worse
Good luck in having success. Oh I have good success with calendula ointment as well and it can be used for a few other problems as well. But I really think that the coconut oil is quicker and a bit more effective and for your variety of problems much better.
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Erin
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MarilynW
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mavmama wrote:
Krisann,
I would reccomend Renew lotion from Melaleuca. Truly, it has changed my life, and the kids', too. It works so well, we have not had any excema flare ups since we started using it. All my life I've had what our family calls "chicken skin" and those bumps are gone since using this lotion. Just my 2 cents...
Liz |
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I second this. My dd gets eczema due to food allergies - and Renew is the only thing that has worked - and we have tried everything - Aquaphor, Cetaphil, Eucerin etc. If the skin is very very dry - we supplement with Neutrogena Hand Cream (unscented)
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Marilyn
Blessed with 6 gifts from God
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J.Anne
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I just signed on to post what completely cleared up my son's eczema. The Arbonne Baby Care line has worked wonders. I've used it for two years. The Hair and Body Wash is all he tolerates for soap. We normally slather him with the lotion after the bath. He had a bad outbreak a few weeks ago (weather change), so we added the Arbonne Baby Oil actually during the bath and then again after (watch for slipping in the tub!) followed up with Aquaphor (which alone doesn't do much for him). His entire rash is gone. I LOVE the Arbonne Baby Care line, which is sold like Pampered Chef. I am not a huge fan of their adult skin care because it makes my skin break out like I am 15 again, only now with wrinkles! It is also safe and all natural. We tried this as a last resort before Ellidel and again, it has worked wonders for him. 100% gone -
It isn't cheap, but it was less that the co-pay for Ellidel and it is SAFE and works. I don't sell it because I don't have time for that kind of thing, but I think consultants are easy to find.
Jennifer
As Cozy as Spring[/URL
Arbonne Baby Care
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momwise
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MarilynW wrote:
| My dd gets eczema due to food allergies - and Renew is the only thing that has worked - and we have tried everything |
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Is this found at the health food store?
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Gwen...wife for 30 years, mom of 7, grandma of 3.....
"If you want equal justice for all and true freedom and lasting peace, then America, defend life." JPII
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mommylori
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We have awful skin here, Exzema and just severe dry, nothing works better than Eucerin in the tub, it is real thick like a paste and is wonderful, it is expensive but will last forever! A nurse at Children Mercy when clay had surgery recomended it, and it has done miracles.
Another great one, is lathering in baby oil the min you get out of the tub then pat yourself dry and lotion up.lol
Also Dove for Sensative skin soap really helps us out.
Lori
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4Real Forums : Our Lady of Good Remedy and Care
Topic: Skin relief ideas
